Part of Brighton has become a “dumping ground” for people looking for free parking after a permit scheme was introduced nearby, residents claim.

The resident’s parking permit scheme was introduced in south Hollingdean on Monday, April 13, but not in north Hollingdean.

Until last week, Hollingdean was one of the few remaining areas in Brighton which hadn’t been turned into a controlled parking zone.

Now, residents in north Hollingdean say their roads are being “swamped” with cars – particularly those living close to the border – with some left for days at a time.

Jo Pace, from Stephens Road, described her road as “hell on earth”, adding: “It has become a dumping ground since the scheme was introduced.

“There are cars I don’t recognise which are left for weeks on end and local people can’t park. It’s chock-a-block all day and night and it’s becoming untenable.”

Brighton and Hove’s first parking permit scheme was introduced in the city centre in 2001 in response to resident demand and in a bid to combat commuter parking. The result has been a domino effect in which areas bordering controlled zones become swamped with motorists looking for free parking and residents in turn ask for permit schemes to be implemented.

Residents in south Hollingdean had long struggled to park as the area became an unofficial “park and ride” with people parking in the area and catching the bus into the centre. For many years residents lobbied the council to introduce a parking permit scheme to reduce this.

At 10am, a north Hollingdean road is full (Image: The Argus)

The council floated turning all of Hollingdean into a controlled parking zone a decade ago, but this was rejected and, instead, the area was split into north Hollingdean and south Hollingdean – or “So-Ho and No-Ho” as resident Katie Newland has coined the divide.

Following a resident vote, south Hollingdean voted for a controlled parking zone whilst north Hollingdean, which had been less impacted by the “park and ride” problem, voted against it.

The result has been a “massive displacement” of cars which previously parked in south Hollingdean, now parking in the north.

The issue is “polarising” as those living in the northern area of north Hollingdean are less affected and less inclined to opt for a permit scheme which requires residents to pay £149.65 annually for low-emission vehicles or £346.75 for high-emission vehicles.

Jo Pace says her road has become “hell on earth” (Image: The Argus)

Katie has launched a petition calling on the council to re-open the consultation process.

Although the north voted against a permit scheme, some would now like to see one introduced.

“The petition is to re-open the consultation process so we can have our say again,” she said.

“Of course we don’t want to pay to park outside our homes, but the landscape has changed.

“In an ideal world you wouldn’t have to pay to park, but that’s not where we are anymore.”

Jo Pace lives in Stephens Road which is just on the cusp of the north and south border.

She said: “There is a big bend at the bottom of the road and cars fly round it.

“There are so many cars parked now on both sides that people can’t pull in, and two cars can’t pass at once, so you end up with cars and lorries trying to reverse around a blind bend.

“The other day a bin lorry got stuck and one of the bin men had to get out to guide them round the bend.”

A bin lorry got stuck at the bottom of Stephens Road (Image: Supplied)

Jo’s vehicle has been damaged twice in the past fortnight, leaving her with a bill of £400 for repairs.

Jo voted for a controlled parking zone in north Hollingdean but says that the northern area of north Hollingdean is more densely populated and a scheme is less popular amongst residents there.

She would have liked to have seen a light touch scheme introduced which has shorter periods of controlled hours. Jo says problems caused by the new zone have been compounded by a recent extension of double yellow lines in the area which has reduced the number of parking spaces.

Ward Councillor Theresa Fowler, who lives in north Hollingdean, has noticed a number of cars which parked on the day the scheme went live and haven’t moved since. She hopes the problem will ease as more residents in south Hollingdean obtain permits.

Cllr Theresa Fowler on the border between north and south Hollingdean (Image: The Argus)

“If you get back at 6,7 or 8 in the evening, you won’t find somewhere; it’s impossible. I came back at 9 once and was driving round and round and ended up parking far away. It’s really difficult for disabled people or people with children who end up with a long walk back.”

Angie Stevens, the owner of The Dippy Egg café, relies on builders parking outside and coming in for breakfast or lunch. Since the scheme was introduced, her customers must now pay £1.80 to park for an hour.

“If it was an hour no return it would help me and the barber’s,” she said. “If they have to pay to park here, they’ll find another café where they don’t have to. You can’t enjoy your breakfast if you’re constantly looking out for a traffic warden.

“It’s a bit of a worry; it’s hard enough trying to learn a living without this. I’ve only been here for 16 months, and I haven’t taken a wage. This [parking scheme] shouldn’t be a money-making scheme.”

Angie, who lives in Patcham, must now also pay £500 a year for a business parking permit.

Angie Stevens, the owner of The Dippy Egg cafe says parking is affecting business (Image: The Argus)

Councillor Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “Before we introduced the residents’ parking scheme in south Hollingdean, we consulted residents in both areas. This consultation included the option for a residents’ parking scheme in both south Hollingdean and north Hollingdean.

“More than 1,600 people replied, with 73.7% of people living south of The Dip strongly in favour of a scheme.

“Those north of The Dip responded heavily against having a residents’ parking scheme in north Hollingdean, with 71.1% heavily against the idea.

“As a result, we listened to that strong resident feedback and north Hollingdean was not included in the residents’ parking scheme.

“We’re always happy to listen to residents and consider further changes and will look at the petition, but the feedback we received previously was that the community in north Hollingdean was firmly against such a scheme being implemented.”